Belgian-based offshore wind farm developer Parkwind has agreed on a significant investment to become a strategic partner in Oriel Windfarm.

Oriel Windfarm is an Irish-owned and operated sustainable energy company established in 2005 to develop offshore wind farms in Ireland.

Parkwind will work with Oriel on the offshore wind farm project proposed for the North Irish Sea.

The financial value of the investment has not been disclosed, however a big part of the investment in the project will be Parkwind's expertise.

When completed, the wind farm will be the first fully operational commercial wind farm developed in Irish waters.

With 55 turbines, delivering a total of 330 MW of clean renewable energy, the wind farm will be the ninth-largest power plant in Ireland.

"We believe that Parkwind can bring in the necessary knowledge and pioneering spirit to bring this project to a successful end," Brian Britton, founder of Oriel Windfarm said.

Over 1,000 people will be employed directly and indirectly in the construction of the wind farm, while in the long-term it will account for approximately 100 direct and indirect jobs.

Parkwind has already developed, constructed and now operates three offshore wind farms located in the Belgian concessions zone in the North Sea, providing around 550 MW of green energy to the Belgian market.

Together with the 330 MW of the Oriel Windfarm, Parkwind plans to have more than 1000MW of offshore wind production capacity operating by 2020.

In a statement released yesterday the Belgian company said it believes that it can support the Irish Government in establishing the Irish offshore wind industry, in addition to generating economic activity and employment over the entire lifetime of the project.

Parkwind co-CEO François Van Leeuw described the challenge and opportunity of realising the first offshore wind farm in Ireland as matching perfectly with its "entrepreneurial and solution-driven company culture".